During a vehicle/engine assembly process, engines must be transported along an assembly line. The engine assembly process requires access to several different engine surfaces necessitating an overhead lifting and carrying assembly that creates minimal obstructions for an assembler. The overhead lifting and carrying assembly generally includes an overhead trolley from which lengths of chain are extended to carry the engine. Conventionally, at least four lengths of chains extend from the trolley, each preferably from adjacent a corner of the trolley, with pairs of chains being associated with opposite ends of the engine.
Unfortunately, engines generally have an uneven weight distribution. Therefore, the engine will not naturally hang in a balanced manner when suspended from the trolley by the chains. Therefore, in order for the engine to hang in a balanced manner, the effective lengths of the chains must be selectively altered.
Accordingly, it is known in the art to adjust the effective length of the carrying chains so as to balance the engine. The effective chain lengths are conventionally altered by preliminarily setting the chain length and then adjusting the effective chain length (i.e., the length from the trolley to a connection point). The chain length is preliminarily set by adding or removing chain links so that the chain length is slightly longer than what is desired. In this regard it is noted that conventional chain links are about 25 mm long, and that adjustments of the effective chain length that are smaller than 25 mm are often required. Such smaller adjustments to the effective chain length are normally made, through trial and error, by manipulating turnbuckles, hammerlock couplings, master chain links or some other device to shorten the effective chain length in an amount less than the length of a chain link. The adjustment of the turnbuckles, hammerlock couplings and master links is very time consuming. Further, as the balancing of the engine is accomplished through trial and error, the balancing process is imprecise and not easily reproducible for other carrying assemblies.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an apparatus and method to improve manual adjustment of effective chain lengths. There further exists a need in the art to facilitate balanced hanging of an object with an uneven weight distribution.